New One-Off Lamborghini 5-95 by Zagato Looks Like a Spyker

Look at what Italian design and coach-building house did to a Lamborghini Gallardo for one very special client. The one-off production car is named the Lamborghini 5-95 by Zagato and it will be displayed for the first time at this weekend's 2014 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como in Italy.

The 5-95 is an official collaboration between Lamborghini and Zagato and it was commissioned by Albert Spiess, who is described as "one of the most significant Lamborghini collectors" in the world, on the occasion of the Italian design firm's 95th birthday (1919 – 2014).

"I always appreciated the ability of Zagato to create timeless lines with a forceful visual impact," said Spiess "I believe that a sensual design inspired by nature, together with the best technology, strike a perfect balance that is possible to achieve only in Italy. The 5-95 will be a fundamental piece of my collection."

Using Lamborghini's Gallardo LP570-4 as a creative base, Zagato re-did the entire exterior of the Italian supercar, but we can't help but see some similarities with an older Zagato concept, the Spyker C12 from the 2007 Geneva Motor Show, especially in the profile.

Commenting on his company's latest build and the selection of the Gallardo, Andrea Zagato said:

“We have chosen the Gallardo because it is the most sensational project in Lamborghini’s history. An extraordinary car, perfect in engineering terms, that has brought the image of ‘the Bull’ from a ‘cottage industry’ to a worldwide major industrial reality. The Gallardo production figures exceeded the whole Lamborghini production since its foundation.”

Lamborghini's Outlandish Egoista Concept Flies Back Home and Goes on Display

Made by Lamborghini as a birthday present to itself and unveiled during the Italian brand's private 50th anniversary party last year, the one-off Egoista is by far the most exotic and radical model to wear the Raging Bull badge of recent memory.

Now, a year later, the Egoista is returning home in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, where it will be permanently displayed at Lamborghini's headquarters, initially in the showroom, and then in the firm's Museum where the general public will have its first opportunity to see the concept up close and in person.

Developed by Walter De Silva, head of Volkswagen Group Design, the mad single-seater (hence the Italian name Egoista that translates to "selfish") supercar takes Lamborghini's aeronautic theme to the extremes, with inspiration coming from the Apache attack helicopter and jet fighters.

The Egoista's body is made from lightweight carbon fiber and aluminum finished in a military-grade, radar-resistant paint to highlight the vehicle's stealth capabilities, while power comes from a tuned version of the Gallardo Mk1's 5.2-liter V10 churning out 600PS (592hp).

Even more impressive is the Egoista's cockpit that features a removable survival cell made of carbon fiber and aluminum along with anti-glare windows in an orange hue.

According to Lamborghini, "in order to leave the vehicle, the driver must remove the steering wheel and leave it on the dashboard, open the dome by actuating an electronic control and climb out of the cockpit with a specific series of movements, as required in fighter jet aircrafts." Not the most practical thing in the world, but just imagine yourself seeing, or better yet, being the one to perform it.

Porsche 921 Vision is a Design Concept for a Modern 928 GT Coupe

Since we were on the topic of French industrial designer Anthony Colard this week (he's the talented guy who penned the AC 5-28 Mont Ventoux, aka the misreported "Dubai Roadster"), we thought we'd share another one of his projects, the Porsche 921 Vision made as a modern interpretation of the classic 928 built from 1977 to 1995.

Colard says he created the 921 Vision concept following a preliminary job interview at Porsche, where the Germans told him that his portfolio was "lacking of clean and simple designs".

"Designed as a job application for Porsche, this was a very quick project (2 weeks)," explains Colard . "Simple but efficient, the idea is to bring back the 928 model to the current line-up at Porsche. Keeping true to the original four-seater aluminium body design, the car has a slick and simple bodywork without any fancy speed activated wing or things like that. It stays clean and true to its origins."

The French designer further elaborates:

"The front end is very tidy and designed with very few lines, the volumes yet express strength and refinement with precise detailing in the lamps to show the technological quality of the car," says Colard.

"The rear echoes back to the original 928 design with its very specific glasshouse, here now with a floating A-pillar to emphasize the curvature and continuity between windshield and side windows. The tail shows its Porsche DNA by mixing the original 928 recessed lamp design with the new Porsche 991 lamps. The lower valance stays simple, integrating in orderly fashion the number plate and reflectors above a double exhaust diffuser," he added.

According to Colard, the 921 was made to be fitted with a front-mounted V8 engine.

Porsche Panamera Coupe Could Give Mercedes S-Class Coupe a Run for its Money

Imagine the familiar and appreciated traits of the Porsche Panamera all wrapped in a sexier two-door body, replacing the still ugly shape the regular model. That’s what this rendering shows and it’d definitely make for a very interesting car – a big coupe in the vein of Mercedes’ S-Class Coupe, but with Porsche handling and bearable looks.

In making it a fastback coupe, the shape of the car’s rear could be altered to look less hunched and more coke bottle-like, like proper coupes should be. I say the makeover could have even been a bit more extreme on the renderer’s side, since this interpretation is a bit too similar to the regular model – more rear overhang, more curves at the rear and slimmer 911-esque lights could be introduced into the design.

Scroll down, check it out and have your say in the comments box! Yay or nay?

All-New 2015 VW Passat Loses Rear Doors in PhotoShop

VW's all-new Passat didn’t blow anybody’ socks off when it was revealed last week, but that’s normal, because it’s a Passat and it’s intentional. It did, however, show the new way forward for VW styling, in actual production form, and it’s a better, more rakish way than before.

The shape could probably even successfully spawn a two-door version of itself, to be a kind of cut-price Audi A5 with a people’s badge on the front and friendlier price – a direct rival for Renault’s Laguna Coupe?

VW has not hinted at the possibility of a Passat coupe, though, judging by how well the (new) look is complimented by only two doors, they really should.

XTomi has gone ahead and created such a version, with the power of painstaking photo editing. The result is the orange car in the photo posted below.

What do you think? Would there be a business case for VW with this car?

Future Cars: Crystal Ball-Gazing Porsche’s Next 928

 

When you think of Porsche, images of its racing heritage, the Carrera GT and the iconic 911 usually come to mind - and of course some will think ‘glorified beetle’ as well. One of the German manufacturer’s more forgotten models is the Porsche 928 - a response to dwindling 911 sales back in the late 1970’s. It was a car that never quite emerged out of the 911’s shadow, even though it did survive an eighteen-year production cycle.

Today, the marque’s range is swelling with SUV’s to hybrid supercars - plus the legendary 911 and Boxster offerings. Yet one could argue that there’s still room for a two-door “grand-tourer”. So, what if the 928 made a return and what could it look like? First of all, lets go back to when Porsche launched its first SUV - the Cayenne. From a design standpoint, it was a good example of how to ruin a brand’s design DNA. Sure, it had 911-like headlights and grille, but the way these elements were translated into an SUV body made it look like a complete Monkfish.

Fortunately, Porsche has put a bit more effort into its new models of late, so a revival of the 928 shouldn’t resemble any ocean-dwelling creature. Building on this progress, my illustrated example below uses the best bits from the 918 Spyder and massages them into a package in-keeping with the 928’s heritage and the brand’s current design language.

The face is an evolution of 911 and 918; incorporating side intakes that flick up into the headlights, with functional lower cut-outs for cold-air induction. Viewing the long, sweeping hood emphasis the car’s sporting pretences - heck you could even say there’s an hint of ‘C6 Corvette’ in there too. Glancing your eye over the side bodywork will yield two distinct features; first are the lower door scallops that incorporate deep horizontal channels. Second is the daylight opening area that pays homage to the first 928.

You could say the cabin is a mixture of old and new; especially the roofline appearing semi-floating in nature. This is due to the B-pillar being separated on top by a sweeping pane of side-quarter glass, whilst retaining its original forward-leaning position. Under all this polished sheet metal (or aluminium and other exotic materials) will most likely lay a shortened platform that underpins the Panamera. Utilizing this will enable a front-engined layout and cost savings through shared suspension and drivetrain components. Speaking of the latter; propulsion would most likely come from the Panamera’s V8 engines as opposed to the flat sixes found in other models.

If this model were to get the green-light, it would face competition from Ferrari’s California, Aston Martin DB9 and Jaguar XKR-S, amongst others. There have been plenty of rumors and talk about a modern GT model by Porsche, but nothing solid yet.

For now and until Porsche makes up its mind, what do you think of this design study; Is it good, or should it be chucked back in the ocean? Let us hear your feedback in the discussion area below.

New Mazda Hazumi Aka the Next Mazda2 Concept in the Flesh

Official imagery of the new Mazda Hazumi concept, previewing the next Mazda2 sub-compact hatch, have spattered onto the web, just before the car makes its grand premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday.

The actual photos of the Hazumi portray the picture of a concept that is, if not near, fairly close to the production model, seasoned with sporty and exaggerated elements like the front and rear bumpers, minimalistic mirrors, center mounted exhausts and huge alloys, all for the sake of show.

The overall exterior design theme mirrors what we have seen from Mazda's most recent model like the "3" compact and "6" mid-size cars, while the interior has an overly futuristic feel and look that will not make it to the production car, set to follow later on.

We're short on technical details, but Mazda said that it will also debut a new SkyActiv-D 1.5-liter turbo diesel in Geneva, which will be offered on the next 2 hatch – at least in Europe.

Mazda Hazumi Concept will Make a Great Mazda2 Successor

It’s no secret that the Mazda Hazumi that is celebrating its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show previews the next-generation Mazda2 supermini, and that’s a good thing judging from the way the study looks. The new concept car builds on Mazda’s KODO design philosophy, sporting similar cues to the new Mazda3 and Mazda6.

Hazumi is a Japanese word meaning to “bound” or “spring up” and was chosen to convey an image of a small but vigorous animal, bursting with energy. “Whereas with longer models such as the Shinari we use long and free lines of motion stretching from front to back to express KODO, with Hazumi we’ve created a form which suggests explosive motion,” says Hazumi chief designer Ryo Yanagisawa.

Sized similarly to the current Mazda2, the study features an athletic stance, with the compact cabin placed as far to the rear as possible moving the center of gravity near the rear wheels. The wedge shaped body starts from the low and pronounced nose and rises toward the rear to impart a strong sense of forward motion. The short overhangs and pronounced fenders underline the car’s strong and athletic stance.

On the inside, the Hazumi has a clean dashboard, with the instrument panel shaped like the wing of an airplane and the center console suspended like a bridge, enhancing the feeling of space and creating more room in the foot wells.

The instrument cluster is designed around the driver’s center axis and features a single, centrally-positioned gauge with displays spreading like wings on either side. The layout of the center display, Active Driving Display, and commander control, is based on Mazda’s Human Machine Interface (HMI) concept called the Heads-Up Cockpit.

The materials used for the controls and displays combine hard chiseled metal with deep acrylic material, while black and white leather adorns the seats and the instrument panel, respectively.

The Mazda study is powered with 1.5-liter Skyactiv-D diesel engine mated to a six-speed automatic, which emits under 90 grams of CO2 per kilometer and fulfills Euro 6 emissions requirements. Mazda Hazumi is also fitted with the i-ACTIVSENSE advanced safety technologies based on Mazda Proactive Safety.

Mazda to Celebrate 25 Years of MX-5 Miata with a Historic Display at NY Show

It may have been more appropriate to celebrate the MX-5 Miata's 25th anniversary at the Chicago Auto Show this year, since the original model did debut in The Windy City on February 9, 1989, but Mazda chose the more popular New York International Auto Show to host what it calls, "the biggest birthday party yet for the storied two-seat roadster".

This party will see Mazda placing on display 15 MX-5 vehicles, ranging from motor show concepts to racers and production models.

The Japanese firm did not reveal any details about the cars it will bring to the Big Apple, but if you'd like to speculate on which MX-5s it should show, go ahead and tell us in the comments after you take a look at the gallery we've assembled below.

Speaking about the NY happening, Jim O’Sullivan, president and CEO of Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) commented:

“MX-5 Miata is the quintessential Mazda. And after 25 years, every vehicle in the lineup continues to feature some characteristic of MX-5: a fluid shifter, lightness on its feet, quickness around a corner, a fun-to-drive DNA. With all the whiz-bang technology and comfort amenities increasingly added to modern vehicles, MX-5’s direct connection between car and driver still remains the standard feature that puts smiles on drivers’ faces.”

The word on the street is that Mazda may show the next MX-5's platform in NY, with the actual car to debut at next year's Chicago Auto Show.